


Crawlspace

by Thatoneloser_kid



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 11:26:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7572385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatoneloser_kid/pseuds/Thatoneloser_kid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thing about Holtzmann was that she could think better in small spaces, she figured it probably stemmed from the times she would crawl into the tiny crawl space at the back of her closet whenever her dad was drunk or her mom was yelling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crawlspace

**Author's Note:**

> Did I go and see Ghostbusters and expect to leave the cinema with the urge to write a fic and an unwavering love for Jillian Holtzman? I did not, yet, here I am. 
> 
> I'm not sure I like this but i had to write something. If you have any prompts you can send them to me on tumblr :) thatoneloser-kid.tumblr.com

The thing about Holtzmann was that she could think better in small spaces, she figured it probably stemmed from the times she would crawl into the tiny crawl space at the back of her closet whenever her dad was drunk or her mom was yelling, and read whatever books she had managed to buy from garage and yard sales (And if she didn’t managed to get new one she would fall back on ‘Ideas and Opinions’ by Einstein. Her parents told her it was weird for a kid her age to read something like that but she didn’t care, she liked it). Small spaces were like some sort of comfort to her, she felt _better_ in small spaces.

 

So when Patty got hurt badly during what they thought was a routine extermination and ended up in hospital Holtzmann crawled into the relatively large crawlspace she had found on the second floor of the firehouse, wracked with what she figured was probably guilt, she really couldn’t help but blame herself. Patty should have been able to deal with what had happened, it was routine, _easy,_ so the only explanation was that some of her equipment malfunctioned. Something she had build must had stopped working and resulted in Patty ending up in hospital with a fractured arm and a concussion.

 

She had taken Patty’s Proton pack into the space with her, turning on her head lamp and searched for what had malfunctioned, what had gone wrong.

 

She startled when there was a soft knock on the hatch, she had to wonder who it was, none of the other girls knew about this place.

 

“Holtz?” Erin’s soft voice came thought the thin wooden hatch. “Are you hungry? You should really eat.”

 

“I- I’m not hungry.” Holtzmann called back and Erin was quiet for a few seconds, probably wondering if she should push Holtzmann to eat.

 

“Can I come in?” Erin asked tentatively, sounding unsure, and Holtzmann really couldn’t deny her.

 

“I always knew you wanted to get me in a small space,” Holtzmann quipped because flirting was something of a defence mechanism to her.

 

Erin seemed to take that as an invitation to enter, sliding the hatch open and crawling inside, the entirety of her left side squished against Holtzmann’s in the small space.

 

“It’s small in here,” Erin commented, looking around the small space, illuminated only by Holtzmann’s head lamp.

 

“Mhm,” Holtzmann hummed, not looking away from the heavy Proton pack on her lap.

 

“This wasn’t down to you, Holtz. Your equipment didn’t malfunction or faulty, Patty was distracted.”

 

Holtzmann shook her head quickly, still not looking at Erin. “No, nope. Patty doesn’t get distracted.”

 

“She thought she saw another ghost in the mirror, and not the reflection, on the other side of the mirror.”

 

“Like-“

 

“Rowan, yes.” Erin nodded once, tentatively touching Holtzmann’s thigh. “I know you’re blaming yourself but you aren’t going to find anything wrong with that pack, because there is nothing wrong with anything you build. You are a great engineer, Holtz, there’s a reason we trust your ‘untested’ equipment, we trust _you._ ”

 

“I- You’re sure it wasn’t me?”

 

“Yes, I’m not long back from the hospital and Patty said the ghost knocked her over when she was distracted. She knocked her head and landed on her elbow. But she’s going to be okay, she will be home by the morning.” Erin assured, giving Holtzmann a reassuring smile when she finally looked up at her. “You did good today, Holtz.”

 

Holtzmann nodded slowly, tapping her screwdriver lightly on the Proton pack. “Pft, of course I did, have you seen how well I handle those Proton pistols?”

 

“I have, and I was very impressed.”

 

Holtzmann nodded, grinning happily, obviously happy that Erin was impressed with her skills, letting her head fall against Erin’s shoulder. “Can we go see her?”

 

“Sorry,” Erin shook her head. “We had to leave, the visiting hours were over. But she is okay, we will go pick her up tomorrow.”

 

Holtzmann nodded against Erin’s shoulder. “How did you know I would be in here?”

 

“A few months ago you left a trail of ectoplasm all the way up the stairs and it disappeared behind that hatch. I figured it was your business so I never asked,”

 

“It helps me think.” Holtzmann explained and Erin hummed, like that was all the explanation she needed. That’s what Holtzmann liked about Erin, she never really questioned Holtzmann’s reasoning behind anything she said. Abby would alway ask her too many questioned, even when she could probably tell Holtzmann was uncomfortable, and Patty would always pull weird faces when Holtzmann went off on one of her rants, but Erin, she would just watch her with interest until she was finished and then would usually hum in agreement and asked a few questions until she realised Holtzmann was uncomfortable and then she stopped.

 

She didn’t have anything against the other girls, she knew Abby was just trying to help and Patty was just expression her confusion but, sometimes, she just needed Erin, and her unconditional understanding for everything Holtzmann had to say.

 

“You want to come out and eat?” Erin asked shortly.

 

“Gilbert, I’ve been out for years.” Holtzmann said, watching as Erin frowned in confusion before, after a few seconds of thought, her face morphed into a look of realisation, which made Holtzmann smirk.

 

“Gay joke, classy.”

 

“What about you, Gilbert?” Holtzmann asked, resting her chin on her fist as she grinned up at Erin. “Are you… out?”

 

Erin rolled her eyes at Holtzmann’s blatant flirting, thankful that it was still pretty dark in this crawlspace, meaning _maybe_ Holtzmann didn’t see the reddening of her cheeks. “Abby got you the burrito she said you liked, come out when you’re ready.”

 

Erin crawled out of the crawlspace, stopping halfway standing, peering over her shoulder when Holtzmann grabbed her wrist softly, half of Holtzmann’s body out of the hatch. “Thank you,”

 

“I didn’t do anything,” Erin smiled, standing up straight when Holtzmann let go, smiling when she heard the sound of Holtzmann’s footsteps follow her into the lab where Abby was with their food. 

 

A warm feeling spread across her chest when Holtzmann sat on the chair directly beside her, their thighs pressing together and their arms bumping against the others as they ate. It was comforting, a weird sense of home that she had never really felt with anyone (sure, Abby made her feel something similar but this was different in all the ways that had Erin a little confused).

 

It didn’t scare her, though (she figured it would probably scare her more if she didn’t go up against ghosts every other day), it was actually nice, a weird warmth that Erin couldn’t explain with any of her scientific knowledge (sure, she knew that feels were all chemical signals, dopamine, serotonin, but she didn’t know why it was _Holtz_ of all people who made her feel this way) (that's a lie, she knew exactly why, the glorious weirdo).

 

She wondered if Holtzmann was feeling the same kind of things but, judging from the happy little gin she gave Erin when she turned to look at her (she could _feel_ Holtzmann surveying her with her eyes while she ate), Holtzmann was feeling something similar.


End file.
